Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna has confirmed an appeal has been lodged against the “lenient” punishment given to former family bodyguard Markus Fritsche.

The sentence handed down to former Schumacher family bodyguard Markus Fritsche last week has triggered an appeal from the Schumacher family, citing the leniency of the sentence imposed.

Markus Fritsche handed suspended sentence for attempted Schumacher blackmail

Three people involved in the attempted blackmail plot against Michael Schumacher’s family were issued sentences in German court last week, with just one of the conspirators given a jail sentence.

The blackmail attempt saw three accused conspirators threaten to release a large collection of private videos and photographs of the seven-time F1 World Champion on the ‘dark web’ unless a huge sum of money was transferred.

Schumacher has not been seen in public, nor have any photos of him been released, since he suffered life-changing injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013.

Yilmaz Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer from Germany, was sentenced to three years in prison for the attempted extortion of the Schumacher family, in which the family was held to ransom for a €15 million sum.

Tozturkan, as well as his son Daniel Lins, stood trial over the accusations, with the blackmail material including some 900 pictures and almost 600 videos of Schumacher and his family, as well as digital records of his medical files.

While Tozturkan was given a three-year jail sentence having pled guilty at the start of the trial in Wuppertal, his son was given a six-month suspended jail sentence for aiding and abetting, with his probation sum set at 1200 euros.

Markus Fritsche, a former bodyguard of the Schumacher family at their estate in Switzerland, was on trial for supplying the information and photographs to the two men, with prosecutors claiming the information was sold to Tozturkan for a five-figure sum.

On Monday, a statement was released by Corinna Schumacher, wife of the seven-time F1 World Champion, who confirmed that the lenient punishment given to Fritsche has resulted in the family appealing the verdict.

With Fritsche only convicted as an accessory to the attempted extortion, being given a two-year suspended sentence, the aim of the appeal is to see Fritsche convicted on the grounds of complicity.

“We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr F,” a statement from a representative for Corinna and the Schumacher family confirmed to PlanetF1.com.

“In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this. What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust. He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.”

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During the court proceedings, which began in Wuppertal in December, the court played the blackmail calls made to the family, with Tozturkan holding his hands up regarding his actions.

“It’s a very, very disgusting thing that I did. I realised that on the second day in prison. I will answer for it,” he said. “I am very sorry and ashamed. I will take responsibility for what I have done.”

Following the court’s verdict, Schumacher family lawyer Thilo Damm hinted the immediate reaction would be to appeal against the leniency of the verdict.

“We do not share all of the court’s statements, in particular that Mr F. is only accused of aiding and abetting and not of complicity,” he said.

“You can assume that we will exhaust all legal remedies available to us.”

Despite efforts by law enforcement to recover the stolen material, some of the files remain missing, compounding the family’s concerns about Schumacher’s private information continuing to be at risk.

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